$153 million for email
communication software
startup GovDelivery in 2016.

TALEN T PIPELINE

s The Techstars Retail
accelerator in partnership with Target has
worked with 30 startups
since hatching in 2016.

Participants—like Local
Crate—often end up
working with the big-box retailer.

s Minnesota Cup, the
largest statewide competition for startups in
the country, is run by the
University of Minnesota.

Winning startupsinclude Astropad,

maker of an app that
turns an iPad into a
drawing pad, and

MicroOptx, a medical
device company changing how glaucoma is
treated.

s In 2015, General Mills
launched 301 Inc, an
incubator that invests in
early-stage food companies (see “For Love or
Meat,” page 30) such
as No Cow, 6 a vegan
protein-snack company.

COMPANIES TO WATCH

Average salary for a localsoftware developer:$84,188 per year

Source: Glassdoor

WHO TO KNO W

Husband-and-wife duo

Ahmed El Shourbagy and

Ashley PaguyoEl Shour­
bagy created the popular
social media account Dogs
of instagram, built a fan
base of 4. 2 million followers, and then launched a
dog accessories company—
and they are happy to share
their wisdom. “They can
help anyone build a brand
on social media,” says Davis
Senseman, whose law frm
specializes in services for
entrepreneurs.

s Sister and brother

Aubry and Kale
Walch wanted to
re-create the meat
dishes they ate
growing up in
Guam—minus the
meat. The result: the
Herbivorous Butcher,

a men’s outdoor
clothing brand and
retailer that flaunts
its dapper Minnesota
roots with products
like its must-have
knit pompom hat
with the word North

stitched on the front.

WHO TO KNOW

Cathy Connett grew up inJamaica and West Virginia but was“raised Midwestern,” thanks to herparents, who hailed from Nebraska.

She landed in the Twin Cities to help
commercialize 3M’s new technologies. Now she’s CEO of the Sofa
Fund, which is run by women to
help female founders grow their
businesses. Sofa’s two funds have
so far invested $3 million in biotech
startups, including Tactilemedical

s Minneapolis
is no stranger to
craft beer, so
when entrepreneurs want to
toast to the day’s
accomplishments—or failures—they head
to one of its many
breweries, including Bauhaus
Brew Labs, known
for its varietals like
the IPA Sky-Five.

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